U.S. patent application number 11/696342 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-22 for cap with adjustable accessories.
Invention is credited to Arned Hernandez.
Application Number | 20080115258 11/696342 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46328646 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080115258 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hernandez; Arned |
May 22, 2008 |
Cap With Adjustable Accessories
Abstract
Headgear that includes a crown and one or more accessories. The
accessory or accessories can be removably attached to virtually any
location of the external or internal surface of the crown.
Inventors: |
Hernandez; Arned; (Tucson,
AZ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
QUARLES & BRADY LLP
ONE SOUTH CHURCH AVENUE, SUITE 1700
TUCSON
AZ
85701-1621
US
|
Family ID: |
46328646 |
Appl. No.: |
11/696342 |
Filed: |
April 4, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11560752 |
Nov 16, 2006 |
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11696342 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/209.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 1/0184
20210101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/209.12 |
International
Class: |
A42B 1/00 20060101
A42B001/00 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. Headgear comprising: a crown that covers the top of a head of a
wearer and having an internal surface arranged to face the head of
said wearer of said crown and an external surface arranged to face
away from the head of the wearer, said external surface being
substantially coextensive with said crown; a visor having a flange
fast with and transverse to said visor, said flange having opposed
major surfaces both including a first coupling means; and second
coupling means on said external surface of said crown; said first
coupling means and said second coupling means being designed for
removable attachment of said visor to said external surface of said
crown at substantially all locations of said external surface.
22. The headgear of claim 21, further comprising additional
coupling means on said internal surface for removable attachment of
said visor to said internal surface.
23. The headgear of claim 21, further comprising an additional
visor having additional coupling means fast with said additional
visor for removable attachment of said additional visor to said
crown, said coupling means being designed such that said additional
visor extends in a direction transverse to said crown at all
locations of attachment thereto.
24. The headgear of claim 22, further comprising an additional
visor having additional coupling means fast with said additional
visor for removable attachment of said additional visor to said
crown, said coupling means being adapted such that said additional
visor extends in a direction transverse to said crown at all
locations of attachment thereto.
25. A headgear kit comprising: a crown that covers the top of a
head of a wearer and having an internal surface arranged to face
the head of said wearer of said crown and an external surface
arranged to face away from the head of the wearer, said external
surface being substantially coextensive with said crown; a
plurality of visors for attachment to said crown; first coupling
means on said external surface of said crown; second coupling means
fast with each of said visors, said first coupling means and said
second coupling means being designed for removable attachment of
each of said visors to said external surface of said crown at
substantially all locations of said external surface, and said
second coupling means being designed such that each visor extends
in a direction transverse to said crown at all locations of
attachment thereto; and means for holding said crown and said
visors together as a package.
26. The kit of claim 25, further comprising a flange fast with and
transverse to at least one of said visors, said flange having
opposed major surfaces, and said second coupling means of said at
least one visor being provided on one of said major surfaces, the
other of said major surfaces being provided with additional
coupling means for removable attachment of said at least one visor
to said crown.
27. A method of manipulating headgear which includes at least two
visors and a crown that covers the top of a head of a wearer and
having an external surface substantially coextensive with said
crown and arranged to face away from the head of said wearer of
said crown, said method comprising the steps of: attaching one of
said visors to a first location of said external surface of said
crown; and attaching the other of said visors to a second location
of said external surface of said crown different from said first
location, the step of attaching the other of said visors being
performed while said one visor is attached to said first location;
wherein each of said visors is attachable to said external surface
of said crown at substantially all locations of said external
surface such that said visors extend in a direction transverse to
said crown at all locations of attachment thereto.
28. The method of claim 27, further comprising providing a flange
fast with and transverse to at least one of said visors, said
flange having opposed major surfaces both including coupling means
for removable attachment of said at least one visor to said crown.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to, and is a
continuation-in-part of, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/560,752, which was filed on Nov. 16, 2006, by the same
inventor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to headgear which includes a crown and
detachable accessories.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A popular type of headgear is the cap which typically
includes a crown and a visor. The crown sits on and covers the head
while the visor projects from the crown. In sunny conditions, the
visor can shield the eyes from the sun.
[0006] While the majority of caps on the market today have the
visor permanently attached to the crown, caps with detachable
visors have become known. Various benefits can be achieved with a
detachable visor. For instance, the visor and the crown can be
provided with hook-and-loop material which allows the visor to be
placed at different locations peripherally of the lower edge of the
crown. It is also possible to replace one visor with another, or to
place a visor on a crown upside-down, in order to change the
appearance of the cap. Moreover, a detachable visor enables a crown
to be worn without a visor and, conversely, enables a visor to be
worn without a crown.
[0007] In one form of cap with a detachable visor, part of the
external surface of the crown is provided with hook or loop
material to permit the attachment of different insignias to the
crown. The visor may also be provided with hook or loop material
for the same purpose.
[0008] Despite the variety of caps with detachable visors, there
are those who would like a cap with greater flexibility. For
example, there are individuals who constantly strive to place
detachable visors in new and unusual positions on a crown.
Moreover, the ability to place an audio player, keys, currency, or
other personal effects in a location other than one's pockets while
jogging or otherwise being physically active is desirable. Also,
providing a cap adapted to receive detachable accessories, wherein
the cap looks as much as possible like a "regular" cap, is believed
to be advantageous in some markets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] One aspect of the invention resides in headgear. The
headgear comprises a crown having an internal surface arranged to
face the head of a wearer of the crown. The crown also has an
external surface which is substantially coextensive with the crown
and is arranged to face away from the head of the wearer. The
headgear additionally comprises an accessory for attachment to the
crown, first coupling means on the external surface of the crown
and second coupling means fast with the accessory. The first
coupling means and the second coupling means are designed for
removable attachment of the accessory to the external surface of
the crown at substantially all locations of the external
surface,
[0010] The headgear may further comprise additional coupling means
on the internal surface of the crown for removable attachment of
the accessory to the internal surface.
[0011] The headgear can also comprise a flange fast with and
transverse to a visor. Such flange has opposed major surfaces, and
the second coupling means is provided on one of these major
surfaces. The other of the major surfaces may be provided with
additional coupling means for removable attachment of the visor to
the crown.
[0012] The headgear can further comprise additional accessories for
attachment to the crown and additional coupling means fast with the
additional accessories for removable attachment of the additional
accessories to the crown.
[0013] Another aspect of the invention resides in a headgear kit.
The kit comprises a crown having an internal surface arranged to
face the head of a wearer of said crown. As before, the crown
further has an external surface which is substantially coextensive
with the crown and is arranged to face away from the head of the
wearer. The kit additionally comprises a plurality of accessories
for attachment to said crown, first coupling means on the external
surface of the crown and second coupling means fast with each of
the accessories. The first coupling means and the second coupling
means are designed for removable attachment of each of the
accessories to the external surface of the crown at substantially
all locations of the external surface. The kit also comprises means
holding the crown and the accessories together as a package.
[0014] Additional coupling means can be provided on the internal
surface of the crown in the kit for removable attachment of the
accessories to such internal surface.
[0015] An additional aspect of the invention resides in a method of
manipulating headgear.
[0016] The headgear in one embodiment of the method includes an
accessory and a crown having an external surface substantially
coextensive with the crown and arranged to face away from the head
of a wearer of the crown. This embodiment of the method comprises
the steps of attaching the accessory to a first location of the
external surface of the crown, removing the accessory from the
first location, and repeating the attaching and removing steps at a
plurality of additional locations of the external surface of the
crown. Each of the additional locations is different from the other
of the additional locations and from the first location.
[0017] The crown used in the current embodiment of the method has
an internal surface arranged to face the head of a wearer of the
crown and the current embodiment of the method further comprises
the step of attaching the accessory to such internal surface.
[0018] The headgear in an additional embodiment of the method
includes two accessories and a crown having an external surface
substantially coextensive with the crown and arranged to face away
from the head of a wearer of the crown. This embodiment of the
method comprises the steps of attaching a selected accessory to a
first location of the external surface of the crown, and attaching
the other accessory to a second location of such external surface
different from the first location. The step of attaching the other
accessory to the second location is performed while the selected
accessory is attached to the first location.
[0019] The crown in the present embodiment of the method once again
has an internal surface arranged to face the head of a wearer of
the crown and the present embodiment of the method can further
comprise the steps of removing the selected accessory from the
first location of the external surface of the crown and attaching
the selected accessory to the internal surface of the crown.
[0020] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be
forthcoming from the following detailed description of certain
preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of headgear according to
the invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a crown forming part of the
headgear of FIG. 1.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the crown of FIG.
2.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a rear view of a flange mounted on a visor
constituting part of the headgear of FIG. 1.
[0025] FIG. 5 shows a headgear kit in accordance with the
invention.
[0026] FIG. 6 is a top perspective view illustrating visors of the
kit of FIG. 5 attached to a crown of the kit.
[0027] FIG. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of a crown
according to the invention.
[0028] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a further embodiment of a crown in
accordance with the invention.
[0029] FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 4 but shows another embodiment of
a flange.
[0030] FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9 but illustrates an additional
embodiment of a flange.
[0031] FIG. 11 illustrates an additional embodiment of the
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0032] Considering FIG. 1, the numeral 10 identifies headgear in
accordance with the invention. The headgear 10 is here a cap of the
type frequently referred to as a baseball cap, and the cap 10
includes a crown 12 and a visor 14. The crown 12 and the visor 14
can be removably or releasably attached to one another, that is,
the visor 14 can be attached to the crown 12 and subsequently
detached therefrom without damaging the crown 12 or the visor 14.
When the crown 12 is being worn, the crown 12 rests on and covers
the head of a wearer of the cap 10.
[0033] Turning to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the crown 12
comprises six generally triangular panels 16 which are joined to
one another in a conventional manner, and the panels 16 meet at an
apex of the crown 12. As seen in the plan view of FIG. 2, the apex
of the crown 12 is at the center of the crown 12. The crown 12 has
an external surface 18 which faces away from the head of a wearer
of the crown 12, and a button 20 is affixed to the external surface
18 at the apex of the crown 12. The external surface 18 is
essentially coextensive with the crown 12, that is, the external
surface 18 runs across essentially the full extent of the side of
the crown 12 which faces away from the head of a wearer of the
crown 12. Stated in another manner, the area of the external
surface 18 as seen in the plan view of FIG. 2 is essentially equal
to the area of the crown 12 as seen in this plan view.
[0034] Considering FIG. 3, the crown 12 further has an internal
surface 22 which faces the head of a wearer of the crown 12.
Similarly to the external surface 18 of the crown 12, the internal
surface 22 is essentially coextensive with the crown 12.
[0035] As best seen in FIG. 2, the crown 12 is provided with six
apertures 24 which are located in the vicinity of the button 20.
The apertures 24 run between the external surface 18 and the
internal surface 22 of the crown 12 and function to ventilate the
head of a wearer of the crown 12. One of the apertures 24 is
disposed in each of the panels 16 of the crown 12, and the
apertures 24 are arranged in a circle which surrounds the button
20.
[0036] Returning to FIG. 3, the crown 12 has an opening through
which the head of a wearer can enter the interior of the crown 12.
The crown 12 has an edge 26 which circumscribes the opening and
faces downward when the crown 12 is being worn. A band 28 is
affixed to the internal surface 22 of the crown 12 adjacent to the
edge 26, and the band 28 has an exposed major surface provided with
the hook portion 30 of hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means.
The hook portion 30 covers essentially all of the exposed major
surface of the band 28.
[0037] The internal surface 22 of the crown 12 has a curvature in
circumferential direction of the crown 12. The band 28 is elongated
in circumferential direction of the crown 12 and, in such
direction, has a curvature conforming to the circumferential
curvature of the internal surface 22 of the crown 12.
[0038] Turning again to FIG. 1, the visor 14 is formed with a
flange 32 which is fast with and transverse to the visor 14. The
flange 32 is elongated and has a curvature in longitudinal
direction thereof. The flange 32 has a major surface 34 which is
complementary to the band 28 inside the crown 12, and the major
surface 34 will be referred to as a front major surface since it
faces the front of the visor 14. The front major surface 34 is
provided with the loop portion 36 of hook-and-loop fastening or
coupling means, and the loop portion 36 covers essentially all of
the front major surface 34. The visor 14 can be removably or
releasably attached to the crown 12 by placing the loop portion 36
of the flange 32 against the hook portion 30 of the band 28. When
the visor 14 is attached to the crown 12 in this manner, the cap 10
has the appearance of an ordinary cap.
[0039] The crown 12 and visor 14 are further designed so as to
permit the visor 14 to be removably or releasably attached to the
crown 12 at virtually any location of the external surface 18 of
the crown 12.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, essentially all of the external surface
18 of the crown 12 is formed with the hook portion 38 of
hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means.
[0041] Referring to FIG. 4, the flange 32 of the visor 14 has a
major surface 40 which is located opposite and faces away from the
front major surface 34 of the flange 32. The major surface 40 will
be referred to as a rear major surface since it faces away from the
front of the visor 14. Essentially all of the rear major surface 40
of the flange 32 is covered by the loop portion 42 of hook-and-loop
fastening or coupling means. The flange 32 of the visor 14 can be
removably or releasably attached to virtually all locations of the
external surface 18 of the crown 12 by bringing the loop portion 42
of the rear major surface 40 into contact with the hook portion 38
of the external crown surface 18. It is also possible to attach the
visor 14 to virtually any location of the external surface 18 of
the crown 12 by placing the loop portion 36 of the front major
surface 34 against the hook portion 38 of the external crown
surface 18.
[0042] The crown 12 may be used with a single visor, or with two or
more visors, which can be removably or releasably attached to
virtually all locations of the external surface 18 of the crown
12.
[0043] FIG. 5 illustrates a kit 44 containing the crown 12, the
visor 14 and two additional visors 14a and 14b. A flange 32a is
fast with and transverse to the visor 14a while a flange 32b is
fast with and transverse to the visor 14b, and the flanges 32a,32b
are elongated and curved like the flange 32 of the visor 14. The
flange 32a has a front major surface 34a which is essentially
entirely covered by the loop portion 36a of hook-and-loop fastening
or coupling means, and the flange 32a further has a rear major
surface 40a which is likewise essentially entirely covered by a
loop portion of hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means (the loop
portion of the rear major flange surface 40a is not visible in the
drawings). Similarly, the flange 32b has a front major surface 34b
which is essentially entirely covered by the loop portion 36b of
hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means, and the flange 32b also
has a rear major surface 40b which is again essentially entirely
covered by a loop portion of hook-and-loop fastening or coupling
means (the loop portion of the rear major flange surface 40b is not
shown in FIG. 5). The loop portions 36a,36b of the front major
surfaces 34a,34b of the flanges 32a,32b, and the non-illustrated
loop portions of the rear major surfaces 40a,40b of the flanges
32a,32b, are designed such that the flanges 32a,32b can be
removably or releasably attached to the band 28 on the internal
surface 22 of the crown 12 and to virtually any location of the
external surface 18 of the crown 12.
[0044] The kit 44 comprises a confining element 46 which holds the
crown 12 and the visors 14,14a,14b with their flanges 32,32a,32b
together as a package. By way of example, the confining element 46
could be a box or plastic container.
[0045] The visors 14,14a,14b may have different colors. For
instance, the visor 14 can be blue, the visor 14a white and the
visor 14b red.
[0046] The visors 14,14a,14b can be provided with one or more
symbols such as letters, numbers and illustrations. The visor 14a
of the kit 44 is formed with a legend as indicated by LEGEND while
the visor 14b is provided with an insignia as denoted by the
circled I.
[0047] Similarly, one or more symbols such as letters, numbers and
illustrations can be removably or releasably attached to the
external surface 18 of the crown 12 by providing the symbol or
symbols with the loop portion of hook-and-loop fastening or
coupling means. As indicated in FIG. 5 by the circled I on the
crown 12, an insignia is mounted on the external surface 18 of the
crown 12 by way of the loop portion of hook-and-loop fastening or
coupling means.
[0048] FIG. 6 shows one manner of using the crown 12 and the visors
14,14a,14b of the kit 44.
[0049] The visor 14 is turned upside-down and attached to the
external surface 18 of the crown 12 by placing the rear major
flange surface 40 of the visor 14 against the external surface 18.
The visor 14 is mounted on the crown 12 near the apex of the crown
12 with the flange 32 of the visor 14 running circumferentially of
the crown 12.
[0050] With the visor 14 positioned on the crown 12, the visor 14a
is mounted on the crown 12 by attaching the front major flange
surface 34a of the visor 14a to the band 28 on the internal surface
22 of the crown 12. The visor 14a is then disposed on the crown 12
in a manner in which visors are normally worn.
[0051] The visor 14b is attached to the external surface 18 of the
crown 12 by bringing the front major flange surface 34b of the
visor 14b into contact with the external surface 18. The visor 14b
is mounted on the crown 12 so that the flange 32b of the visor 14b
runs up-and-down along the crown 12 while the visor 14b projects
from the crown 12 in a direction transverse to the visor 14a. The
visors 14,14a remain attached to the crown 12 during mounting of
the visor 14b on the crown 12. The loop portion of the rear major
flange surface 40b of the visor 14b is visible in FIG. 6 and
denoted by 42b.
[0052] The visor 14a may be detached from the crown 12 and replaced
by either the visor 14 or the visor 14b. The visor 14a can then be
mounted on the external surface 18 of the crown 12 or set aside for
future use.
[0053] It is further possible to detach both the visor 14a and the
visor 14b from the crown 12 and to move the visor 14 to the
position previously occupied by the visor 14b. The visor 14 can
subsequently be moved to at least one additional position on the
external surface 18 of the crown 12 which differs from the
positions previously occupied by the visor 14. Moreover, the visor
14 can be placed in the position vacated by the visor 14a by
attaching the front major flange surface 34 of the visor 14 to the
band 28 on the internal surface 22 of the crown 12.
[0054] The external surface 18 of the crown 12 need not be
essentially completely covered by the hook portion 38 of
hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means in order to permit
attachment of the visors 14,14a,14b to virtually any location of
the external surface 18.
[0055] FIG. 7 shows that the external surface 18 of the crown 12
can be provided with a series of discrete strips 48 which extend
radially of the crown 12 and the external surface 18. The strips 48
converge in a direction towards the button 20 of the crown 12, and
each of the strips 48 has an exposed major surface formed with the
hook portion 50 of hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means.
[0056] Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the external
surface 18 of the crown 12 may be provided with a series of spaced
concentric rings 52 running circumferentially of the crown 12 and
the external surface 18. Each ring 52 has an exposed major surface
formed with the hook portion 54 of hook-and-loop fastening or
coupling means.
[0057] While the rear major flange surface 40 of the visor 14 is
shown in FIG. 4 to be essentially entirely covered with the loop
portion 42 of hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means, this is
not necessary.
[0058] Considering FIG. 9, a strip 56 having a surface area smaller
than that of the rear major flange surface 40 of the visor 14 is
affixed to the rear major flange surface 40. The strip 56 is
elongated and extends longitudinally of the rear major flange
surface 40, and the strip 56 has an exposed major surface which is
provided with the loop portion 58 of hook-and-loop fastening or
coupling means. The strip 56 is surrounded by an area of the rear
major flange surface 40 which is free of fastening or coupling
means.
[0059] Referring to FIG. 10, it is further possible to mount a
series of spaced strips 60 on the rear major flange 40 of the visor
14. The strips 60 run transversely of the rear major flange surface
40, and each of the strips 60 is formed with the loop portion 62 of
hook-and-loop fastening or coupling means. Each strip 60 is
bordered by at least one area of the rear major flange surface 40
which is free of fastening or coupling means.
[0060] The designs of FIGS. 9 and 10 can be used for the exposed
major surface of the band 28 on the internal surface 22 of the
crown 12, the front major flange surfaces 34,34a,34b of the visors
14,14a,14b and the rear major flange surfaces 40a,40b of the visors
14a,14.
[0061] Turning to FIG. 11, a hat or cap 70 having a crown 72 and a
visor 74 is shown. It should be understood that the hat and crown
can be separate pieces (such as in a kit embodiment) or provided as
a unitary whole. The crown 72 has an internal surface arranged to
face the head of a wearer and an external surface arranged to face
away from the head of the wearer. In one preferred embodiment, the
crown is constructed of an unbroken loop fabric, such as
VELTEX-brand fabric. Thus, the crown 72 is adapted to engage a
hook-and-loop type fastener without having a "fuzzy" or "rough"
appearance, thereby making the crown appear to be part of a
"regular" cap. The visor 74 also may constructed from an unbroken
loop fabric.
[0062] In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the exterior of the crown 72
is made from an unbroken loop fabric. However, the interior of the
crown has a hook fastener 76 disposed therein, as seen through
cut-away portion 78. Likewise, visor 74 is made of an unbroken loop
fabric except for flange 80, which contains loop fastener 82 in
this embodiment. Thus, fastener 82 may be attached to fastener 76
so that the crown 72 and visor 74 are unified. Also shown is a
"flange-less" visor 83, which may be reversibly attached to crown
72 through loop fastener 84.
[0063] In addition to visor 74, accessories (pocket 86 and audio
player case 88 having earphone 89) may be reversibly attached to
crown 72 and/or visor 74 as indicated by arrows C1, C2, V1, and V2,
respectively. Both pocket 86 and case 88 are shown from the front
and back so that the hook-and-loop fastening means 90 are shown.
Hence, the cap 70 is very versatile in its ability to store various
implements.
[0064] As in the embodiments disclosed above, the cap 70 of FIG. 11
may be provided as a kit that includes crown 72 and a plurality of
accessories for attachment to the crown, such as visors 74 and 83,
pocket 86, and case 88, and means 96 for holding the crown and
accessories together as a package. Because the contents of the kit
are designed for removable attachment at substantially all
locations of the external and/or internal surface of the crown
and/or visor(s), a hat may be customized for use in a large variety
of situations.
[0065] For example, a user may place her keys and money in pocket
86 and then attach the pocket to the interior (underside) surface
of visor 74 while engaging in exercise. Alternatively, while
attending a baseball game, the user may attach visor 74 in its
"normal" position for a time. If at some point the user wanted to
sport a "rally cap" look, the visor may be detached and re-attached
at the back of crown 72 without removing the cap. Additional
"looks" also may be created, such as a "shark" (visor 83 placed in
the middle of the crown) or a "mouse" (multiple visors 83 placed on
the crown to resemble ears), limited only by the number of
accessories available for attachment and the user's
imagination.
[0066] Headgear in accordance with the invention is versatile. A
single accessory can be attached to the crown in a conventional
fashion, for example, a single visor can be attached to the crown
in such a manner that the crown and the visor resemble a
conventional cap. Alternatively, one or more visors or other
accessories may be attached to the external and/or internal surface
of the crown at virtually any locations of the external surface.
The accessories can be positioned right-side-up, upside-down or
sideways. It is further possible to attach one or more visors to
the external and/or internal surface of the crown and to attach
another accessory, such as a pocket or holder, to the visor or to
the crown. Thus, the headgear possesses a high degree of
customization potential.
[0067] Various modifications are possible within the meaning and
range of equivalence of the appended claims.
* * * * *